The new video game Palworld was released Jan. 19 and, in just three days, has sold over 5 million copies, according to the Palworld official X account.
Released as an early access version, the game has skyrocketed in popularity worldwide, with many people wondering what the hype is about — and expressing concerns with its nickname, “Pokémon with guns.”
What is Palworld?
Palworld is an open-world survival game where your main goal is to survive, by making base camps and finding food, along with the help of little creatures you can capture and equip with weapons, according to Wired.
In the game, players have a large map to explore, where they have to fight other players and find resources to survive. A major component to this game is the use of “pals,” the creatures you capture in the game, and players (also known as “pal-tamers”) who can use their pals in many ways, such as mining, building or fighting, according to BBC.
Right now the game is an early access version, which means that people can play the unfinished version and report back to the creators about any bugs, viruses or other problems they experience in the game before it is officially released, per The Washington Post.
But that doesn’t stop it from being the second-highest played game on Steam, according to the Palworld official X account.
Why is it being called ‘Pokémon with guns’?
In 2021, Pocket Pair released the first Palword trailer, showcasing the many pals and features the game offered. At first it seems simple: You can build your own house, hunt and collect resources.
But it shows another side to Palworld — you must fight other players to survive and to do that, you sometimes have to use your pals as weapons. Or, as the trailer shows, create weapons.
Is Palworld owned by Pokémon?
Despite its unofficial nickname, “Pokémon with guns,” per The Washington Post, Palworld was created by video game company Pocketpair and not Nintendo, the creator of Pokémon.
And with its official early release, that title has become even more ingrained, especially with the criticism of plagiarism of the popular Nintendo game Pokémon.
According to Rolling Stone, a lot of the creatures look too similar to Pokémon, not just from the way they look but also their 3D model schematics that various artists and designers have spoken about.
According to The New York Times, the developers of Palworld have already undergone a legal review for the game. And in an interview with BBC, Wesley Yin-Poole, the U.K. news editor for gaming website IGN, shared that “While it has got monsters that are very similar to Pokémon, the way the game plays is very different.”
Where can you play Palworld?
The game currently has an age rating of Teen for violence on Xbox’s website. Palworld is currently a digital-only game available on Xbox and Steam. It’s $26.99 on Steam and $29.99 on Xbox.